Marco Wittmann has his maiden DTM title within reach, thanks to a faultless performance in the seventh round of the season at the Nürburgring.
The German extended his lead in the drivers’ standings with another win aboard his BMW M4 DTM. Mattias Ekström, his rival in the championship, retired from the race following a collision in the opening stages.
"This is a great success for us. Slowly, we can really start talking about the title," he said.
"Towards the end of the race, it still was a little close, because Mike Rockenfeller was able to close up. I think that his tyres were better than mine in the closing stages of the race.
"Now, we have to continue like this," added Wittmann, who won lights-to-flag in front of 80,000 fans.
Classified fourth, former F1 driver Paul Di Resta only just missed out on a podium finish. The Brit, who started from eighth on the grid, gradually worked his way up through the ranks.
"My verdict is very positive. We were able to challenge for a podium finish by our own means. My thanks go out to the entire crew for having done a perfect job. I am very confident for the races to come," he commented.
Mattias Ekström is now 64 points behind Wittmann in the chase for the title, tied with Edoardo Mortara.
Race results – Nürburgring
1 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 49 laps in 1.09'42"802
2 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1"286
3 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Abt - 12"019
4 - Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 12"815
5 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 13"717
6 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 24"918
7 - Maxime Martin (BMW M4) - RMG - 28"921
8 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 38"521
9 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 43"197
10 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 45"377
11 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 48"071
12 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 49"834
13 - Antonio Felix Da Costa (BMW M4) - MTEK - 50"150
14 - Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - 50"955
15 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 52"771
16 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 57"056
17 - Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 58"557
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race: 1'23"175 by Marco Wittmann
Retirements
Augusto Farfus
Nico Muller
Timo Scheider
Miguel Molina
Mattias Ekstrom
Championship
1.Wittmann 120; 2.Mortara, Ekstrom 56; 4.Rockenfeller 53; 5.Spengler 42; 6.Vietoris 41; 7.Martin 39; 8.Tambay 36; 9.Farfus, Glock 33.
The German extended his lead in the drivers’ standings with another win aboard his BMW M4 DTM. Mattias Ekström, his rival in the championship, retired from the race following a collision in the opening stages.
"This is a great success for us. Slowly, we can really start talking about the title," he said.
"Towards the end of the race, it still was a little close, because Mike Rockenfeller was able to close up. I think that his tyres were better than mine in the closing stages of the race.
"Now, we have to continue like this," added Wittmann, who won lights-to-flag in front of 80,000 fans.
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| Marco Wittmann, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: DTM.com) |
Classified fourth, former F1 driver Paul Di Resta only just missed out on a podium finish. The Brit, who started from eighth on the grid, gradually worked his way up through the ranks.
"My verdict is very positive. We were able to challenge for a podium finish by our own means. My thanks go out to the entire crew for having done a perfect job. I am very confident for the races to come," he commented.
Mattias Ekström is now 64 points behind Wittmann in the chase for the title, tied with Edoardo Mortara.
Race results – Nürburgring
1 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 49 laps in 1.09'42"802
2 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1"286
3 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Abt - 12"019
4 - Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 12"815
5 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 13"717
6 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 24"918
7 - Maxime Martin (BMW M4) - RMG - 28"921
8 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 38"521
9 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 43"197
10 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 45"377
11 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 48"071
12 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 49"834
13 - Antonio Felix Da Costa (BMW M4) - MTEK - 50"150
14 - Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - 50"955
15 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 52"771
16 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 57"056
17 - Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 58"557
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race: 1'23"175 by Marco Wittmann
Retirements
Augusto Farfus
Nico Muller
Timo Scheider
Miguel Molina
Mattias Ekstrom
Championship
1.Wittmann 120; 2.Mortara, Ekstrom 56; 4.Rockenfeller 53; 5.Spengler 42; 6.Vietoris 41; 7.Martin 39; 8.Tambay 36; 9.Farfus, Glock 33.